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spray

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verb British English pronunciation: spray /spreɪ/ 
Word Forms
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present tense
I/you/we/theyspray
he/she/itsprays
present participlespraying
past tensesprayed
past participlesprayed
Other entries for this word
  1. 1
    [intransitive/transitive] if you spray a liquid, or if it sprays, it is forced out of a container through a small hole into the air

    The fountain's cool water sprayed upwards with a pleasant hiss.

    Mansell stood on the podium and sprayed champagne into the air.

    spray someone/something with something:

    I caught the kids next door spraying my dog with cold water!

    spray something on/onto/over something:

    The chemical is sprayed onto the roof to weatherproof it.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of spray
    1. a.
      to cover crops or a large area of land with a chemical spray in order to kill insects or to prevent diseases

      Health officials have sprayed the areas where the virus was active.

      Farmers have to apply for permits to spray from the air.

      spray for:

      They're spraying for mosquitoes this weekend.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of spray
    2. b.
      British to paint a car by spraying paint on it
      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of spray
  2. 2
    [transitive] to shoot a large number of bullets at something, covering a wide area
    spray someone/something with something:

    The men sprayed the vehicle with automatic gunfire.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of spray

This is the British English definition of spray. View American English definition of spray.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

View the pronunciation for spray.

 

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